Get A Life: Be yourself, everyone else is taken

Monday

Oct 7, 2013 at 6:00 PM

By Loretta LaRoche

When I was younger, I spent a considerable amount of time and energy on what I thought was the noble pursuit ... of making myself taller. Yes, I knew all the tricks. I’d spend hours in the beauty parlor having my hair done in a style that was assured to help me look tall — unfortunately, I ended up looking like a pregnant bumblebee. I’d wear shoes with heels so high that I teetered on them precariously. I discovered certain designers whose clothes were carefully crafted with sleek lines to make even bowling balls look slim and lanky. So I’d buy these extra-long pants, which were supposed to make my legs look longer — but all they did was make me trip a lot.

I walked around with constant foot trauma; spent hundreds of extra dollars on my clothes and hair and devoted countless hours of my time to shopping, primping, and fussing; and, of course, I used up enormous amounts of my psychic energy and attention in the pursuit of this illusion.Guess what? I’m still short!

Of course, I’m also talking about being a very young woman who was trying to fit in, and who, often struggled with not enjoying being who she was. When I finally gave up trying to impress other people with the illusion of height, my life improved enormously. I no longer walked around in pain, I wore whatever clothes I liked, and I stopped trying to make my hair look voluminous.

Acceptance of what is can be wonderfully liberating, but it can also create a great deal of inner peace and harmony. This is an incredibly difficult concept for a society that is constantly assaulting us with messages that most of us need some kind of a “makeover.” Not a day goes by without some ad telling us that we should be thinner, more successful, find our soul mate, be happier or live longer. These messages make it increasingly more difficult to simple “BE.”I love to consider ways of improving myself, but there comes a point where we have to realize that we simply can’t improve everything about our lives. In fact some of how we look and act make us uniquely different from one another. Those who really care about you will enjoy who you are, as you are, unless your behavior is harming you or others. I love the following quote by Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself, everyone else is taken!”